


If This Is What It Takes

by neptuneking



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Barry has a puppy crush, Barry's mind can talk because i made up a fake metahuman, Episode: s01e08 Flash vs. Arrow, Felicity Smoak is one of god's greatest gifts, Fluff, M/M, Oliver is more than okay with it, Protective Dads TM, Team Arrow, Team Flash, aka joe and wells, and it develops into more, everything works out okay in the end, its mostly set in canon verse!, rainbow raider - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2016-10-29
Packaged: 2018-08-27 15:19:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8406817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neptuneking/pseuds/neptuneking
Summary: A very alternate version of Arrow vs. Flash where Barry goes up against a meta and now his mind talks out loud. Also, cute pining stuff.





	

**Author's Note:**

> hello hello hello ! this is my first finished fic ever, and my first time writing olivarry! they have such an interesting dynamic, i had so much fun messing with them ngl. also the BIGGEST thanks to Em, aka @fvckradio on here, they cheered me on and read this along the way even though they don't even watch the flash. this wouldnt exist without you em so thank you SO much love you pal
> 
> p.s. i used quite a bit of dialogue from 1x08 but i interpreted it differently and obviously made it fit/into something new. all of the original lines and such go to the flash, arrow, and CW. 
> 
> happy reading!  
> 

The speedster rolled onto his back, clutching his torso. A small groan left his lips, his head was pounding from what the latest metahuman just blasted him with.

This particular meta, story-teller, as Cisco calls her, likes to talk a lot. Not just the snarky commentary most villains Barry goes up against like to spew either. No, this was different. She told all of their encounters back to him like she was reading a book. He guesses that’s why they call her story-teller, but in all fairness, they should’ve picked something relating to the mind. Her actual powers, from what Barry has experienced, include getting inside the brain and being able to… cast spells on him? Something like magic, but over what he thinks and feels. The blonde can send off waves with her hands, all Barry knows is that whatever she does, it hurts. A hell of a lot. 

“Are you okay? Barry, you can’t let her get away again.” Cisco interrupts his pain through the com in his ear. He finally stands up, breathing a little heavier than normal but slowly regaining his strength. 

Story-teller just smirks, looking up from her nails. “And the fastest man alive gets up, not ready to retreat from a fight. His opponent is smug, seated at a table in the empty coffee shop with her legs crossed. What will the speedster’s next move be, she wonders. She already knows the answer, because she’s in his head, you see. She knows what he’s thinking.” The woman lets it trail off in a mysterious tone, almost teasing-like. 

Barry rolls his eyes, his hands curling into fists as he steps towards her, “Why are you doing this? What do you get from it?” 

“She smiles as the masked man asks the questions, he’s obviously in distress. ‘ _ Entertainment _ ’, comes her reply. She gets pure bliss messing with people like this, and what’s more fun than irritating The Flash?” 

That’s it, Barry’s gonna blow if he doesn’t shut her up soon. He quickly thinks out a plan, speeding around her to pick her up and running out the door, down 5th street. He dodges traffic but as they’re nearing Star Labs the woman finally registers what’s happening and sends a wave over him, causing him to slow to a halt. He drops her, clutching his chest as tears well up in his eyes. 

“What- What did you do to me?” He yells it out, practically sobbing now, unable to stop. There’s a huge weight forming in what he thinks is his heart. He’s unsure because all he can focus on is the pure loss of his mother. He hasn’t felt this badly about it since the day after it happened, typically opting to push it down. Even now, it’s  _ worse _ than that day. It rushes over him, the fact he’s never truly accepted her death. 

The story-teller doesn’t look accomplished anymore, just scared. Like she didn’t know how badly of an impact what she did to him would have. Her mouth is agape, slowly stepping back.

Barry drops to his knees, one hand resting on the ground holding him up and the other firmly squeezing the fabric of his suit. “Please make it… Please make it stop!” 

Story-teller gulps before sending another wave, the hit immediately letting Barry breathe. His tears stop, and the weight lets up. The man once again falls on his back, relieved sounds leaving his mouth. He doesn’t know why she did it, she’s supposed to be a bad person, but he’s thankful nonetheless. He isn’t sure how much longer of that he could take. 

Caitlin speaks up, rushed in his ear, “Barry, what happened? Talk to us! Are you alright?” 

He ignores it for the time being, looking at the worried gaze the meta throws him. He has to get her, there’s only a few more miles and they could be in Star Labs. He could lock her up, stop all of the nonsense she’s causing around Central City. Knowing she can read his mind, he doesn’t think about a plan. He just makes move to do it. 

“Not so fast, Barry Allen!” She’s nervous, hands thrown out cautiously in front of her, eyes wide. He isn’t surprised she knows who he really is. A few metahumans do, with powers such as hers, it was probably easier figuring it out than it is to speak. He can’t risk a repeat of what just happened though, so he stills. 

“You lock me up and I’ll spend forever mocking you.” She’s dropped the narrative speech, a fierce look on her face now. Barry is unaware of what that means, although it’s  _ really _ weird. He can’t spend time pondering it because Cisco again tries to reach him through his earpiece. This time with valuable information. 

“Barry, listen, her necklace helps her keep in control of the signals she sends off. She must’ve been wearing it the night the particle accelerator blew up. Get it off of her and you might have a better chance of reigning her in. You’re about three miles away, you can do it. Act fast.” 

The man doesn’t have to be told twice. He jumps into gear, whipping around her, unclipping the necklace and grabbing her before she can do anything. He holds it at a distance as he runs, in case she tries to grab it. Which is exactly what she does when they get to the door of the labs. Barry curses as they fight in the concrete hallway, throwing punches never felt so tiring, she anticipates each one. He finally gets in a solid jab to her stomach, which makes her double over. The hero thinks this is his chance, but she’s up and hitting him with another wave in the blink of an eye. He feels nothing different, so he assumes it was a doozy. 

“Have fun with that one, Flash.” The smirk is evident and Barry wants nothing more than to put her behind carbyne glass. This time when he speeds her to the cell, it actually works out in his favor. 

“Man, good work.” Cisco and Caitlin walk through the entrance just as Barry is touching the button that rises up the wall to separate them from the box. The last thing they see is story-teller banging her fists on the glass. 

“I wish you would talk to us more when you're on missions, though, since y’know, we’re supposed to be  _ helping _ you. I can't complain too much this time, that girl is like a walking audiobook.” 

They’re silent as they take in what Cisco said, until Barry pulls off his mask and speaks up, “She did something to me, with one of her waves. Made every feeling I’ve ever repressed about my mom come crashing onto me. I don’t know, it was like I was getting my heart ripped out.” 

“Is that why you were crying?” Caitlin softly inquires, touching his arm in a friendly gesture. He sighs and nods, eyes downcast. 

A higher-pitched male voice suddenly makes it’s presence known. All three of them jump as it announces, scrambling for words, “Yes, he was sad, recalling the memories of that fateful night. When his mother was doomed- that’s a bad choice of words. When his mother passed away, killed by the reverse flash. You know? That night wasn’t good.” 

“Who the hell are you?” Cisco all but shouted, horror taking over his face, the others equally as troubled. They were looking at the speakers, as if it was coming from them. Barry was about to zoom through the building to see if anyone had broken in but the voice started conversing again. 

“Oh, hi, I’m basically the voice that’s inside Barry’s head. Or his conscious, or his mind-train, you could say. I mean, I have a mind of my own, kind of. Kinda, maybe. Sometimes. Anyways, most of what I say is what Barry’s thinking, even if he doesn’t know he’s thinking it. It’s my job here. Except for right now, since I have to explain this to you all and Barry isn’t aware until I explain it. You see? Hi.” 

Now they were just perplexed, you can’t blame them for not trusting this thing after the people they deal with on a daily basis. Barry demands with a tense set to his shoulders, “Then where are you coming from? Thin air? How did you get out of my  _ mind _ ?” 

There’s humor in the slightly squeaky voice, “The metahuman of course! You know this, Barry, when she blasted you for the last time. She has superpowers! She isn’t just going to have ‘doozy’s’. His words, not mine.” He directs the last line to the others, the man presumes. 

The long haired boy curiously peers at him, “Is that true? She hit you before you locked her up?” Barry just nods, not really knowing what to do with any of this. “Okay. Let’s get to the lab and figure this out.”

They run numerous tests on his vitals, any neurological damage, and tests to see if he remembers everything clearly, can state facts about himself, and if he interprets things said by other people differently. The man is used to most of this, the scientists constantly have to check in on him. Anything that gets thrown at him could have unexpected results. 

“Ahh! Wait, show no weakness, show no weakness.” The voice babbles as Cisco sticks an IV in Barry’s forearm. He raises an eyebrow at the boy in treatment, openly teasing him because he knows by now that’s something Barry thought instead of the voice’s ‘mind of it’s own’.  Barry gives an embarrassed shrug, inwardly wishing the voice wouldn’t say  _ everything  _ he thinks. He admits this is only a little cool. Only a tiny little bit. 

“So, it looks like you’re all good. Everything matches to before you went on the mission, just… There’s a voice hovering around you saying what you think and feel.” Caitlin checks things off on the tablet, peeking up at the last sentence to scan him over. Crazier things have happened. This seems like the least of their worries in the grand scheme of things.

“I’m not just hovering! I’m surrounding, radiating out of Barry. I  _ am  _ Barry!” It defends. Barry didn’t know how to feel about that one; it was his mind, yes, but that’s a lot less weird than saying it was him, as a whole. 

“I’m not you as a whole, Barry, I just meant I’m whatever emotions you’re having, whatever your mind drifts onto. I’m part of your brain, I guess.” That isn’t any better. “Then what do you want me to be?” 

Barry dismisses the fact the voice was responding to something he said in his head, not out loud. “I don’t know! You’re a voice apparently radiating out of me and you’re able to see what’s going on in my head. You have to admit it’s kinda freaky.” 

“I admit that, I know it is. Look on the bright side though- I’m craving mexican food.” 

A shocked laugh comes out of Barry just as his stomach grumbled and, sure enough, he had a craving for street tacos. He skipped dinner in favor of catching criminals, and he was regretting it. 

“So… Wanna go to Guadalajara, if you're done arguing with yourself?” Barry nods in agreement to Cisco’s address. He could do for some serious food right now. About ten thousand calories of it.  
  


\--   
  


The previous night went, well. It was humorous to say the least. Barry didn’t realize how many funny or erratic things he thought about while out in public. His best friends got a kick out of the voice when it wouldn’t stop singing ‘My Heart Will Go On’, making all the tables in the restaurant stare in horror. Barry had to mouth along, so as to make it seem it was him doing it. They ended up getting asked to leave because their presence was a ‘nuisance’. 

It was a little harder to focus the following day, because he had to go to the CCPD to work. And having a talking mind doesn’t turn out too well when you’re attempting to investigate a crime scene. Along with reciting all the information he was putting together about the murder, the voice didn’t hesitate to express its disgust for all the blood splattered on the walls. 

Joe being Joe, he noticed before anyone else could, thankfully pulling him aside. He was in the tell with everything supernatural that goes on in Central, so things like this don’t easily get past him. The older man searched around, confirming they were out of earshot before leaning down, “Barry, son... Why is the air talking to us.” 

The forensic scientist rocked back and forth on the heels of his converse, trying to come up with a way to explain this predicament. He realizes waiting to respond gives his mind more time to say something so he just tells the truth. 

“It’s my conscious. A meta we caught last night did something to me so now my mind kinda... has a voice?” 

Joe considered this for a second, a tentative expression on his face. Then clapped his hand on his adoptive son’s shoulder in a way of understanding. “I’ve seen crazier.” 

“That’s what I said!” The voice chimed in, taking from Barry’s previous thoughts on the matter. Joe chuckled and told him to keep it in the reigns so no one else would catch on. That was a lot harder than it seemed. Telling your brain to be quiet while you were actively using it was a challenge. He vowed the only way to get through without suspicion was to steadily avoid all his colleagues until he got back to his lab. 

That’s where he was when his cell started to ring and vibrate on his desk. Barry jumped from his stance in front of his large corkboard, where there’s newsletter articles and photo cutouts all concerning his mother’s death connected with a red string. He hasn’t touched it in weeks, too busy focusing on taking down all the metahumans gone rogue. He draws his attention away from the board to land on the iPhone continuing to play some weird beat. There’s only a few people he can’t ignore or stray away from.

“Barry, bank robbery in progress at Cunningham and Sampere.” Cisco hastily greets, with distant keyboard tapping in the background. 

Barry’s already plunging into action, “I got it.” He swiftly changes into a Flash suit he keeps at work just in case and speeds out the back door of the police department, the last thing he needs is someone seeing the Flash darting out of Barry Allen’s lab. 

He arrives just in time to stop a bullet from hitting a man. The room is utter chaos. The woman that fired it drops the gun in shock, clearly not realizing what she was doing. Barry observes everyone, each one of them seeming to calm down, now disoriented and afraid. The robber seems to be gone without a trace.

“This is bad.” Cisco huffs a laugh over the com, having heard the voice. It makes Barry shake his head, and leave the location. 

Once he reaches the scene again, in his regular clothes and satchel slung over his shoulder, Joe approaches  him to discuss the matter. “Witnesses reported seeing the flash.” Joe states, prompting Barry to tell him what happened. The other detectives and officers are getting statements from the victims around them; some examining the shattered glass and open vault. 

“Joe, you would’ve flipped. Everybody was trying to kill each other, I got here just in time.” And it’s true, a second later and someone could’ve died. Joe starts walking, silently motioning for Barry to tag with. 

"Must've been a diversion then, because there’s a half-million bucks missing from the vault. They’re tracking the stacks, but in the meantime… Any idea what caused such mass, whatever this is?” It had to have been a meta, there’s no other explanation. He’s searching through different possibilities in his head while peering around. 

“A neurotoxin, maybe? I’m gonna take some swabs and see if I can find anything.” Barry stops for a second, wondering what could’ve hit the civilians to force them to act so filled with rage. “I think they got… Whammied.” 

Joe’s face fills with confusion, “Whammied?” 

“Yeah. Like hit with something, I don’t know. Let me look into it.” The younger pulls his bag more onto his shoulder so it won’t slip off. 

“Alright, but you need to get to Star Labs as soon as possible. Four genius's are better than one.” Barry gives an appreciative smile to his father and starts to take those swabs he talked about. 

 

-  
  


Dr. Wells maneuvers his wheelchair into the room, explaining what the victims were overcome by earlier that day. Cisco makes an offhand imitation of Yoda that Barry rolls his eyes at. This meta was frustrating him, he couldn’t find any prints or hints of what this may be at the bank. Whoever this guy was, he was more careful than most are.

“It’s like they went total savage for a few minutes then returned to normal. I don’t get it.” Barry leans back against the wrap around desk, crossing his arms in exasperation. Harrison supplied some mysterious reply about anger being a powerful emotion, then added how if the guy can control their irrational feelings of anger, he could do a lot of damage. The boy nodded in understanding just as Caitlin came bouncing in with a USB that Detective West helped her get her hands on. It was a blessing to have his dad be in on his secret. 

She plugged it in so they could study the cat scans of the victim’s brains, majority of the pictures showing signs of their emotional sections being overwhelmed. This meta definitely did a number on them, he messed with the part of their brains that controls executive function; which keeps people from doing whatever destructive or random thing that comes to mind. Explains why everybody was being reckless. 

Barry was about to ask how they think he does it, but the screens interrupted him. The police found where the meta was hiding, in some warehouse. Barry suited up and memorized the address before dashing out of the building. Maybe this guy wasn’t as careful as they thought. 

Another close call, another moment Barry got there just on time. He didn’t even get to breathe after pushing Joe to the ground, hardly missing the round of bullets that the affected SWAT member shot at his team. The member in focus was being tied up by ropes; easily from the two arrows that got shot into his torso.

Barry whipped around to see none other than Oliver Queen, in full Arrow disguise. A smile raised to his face, if Joe’s expression was confused and bewildered, it didn’t matter. They were safe for the time being. 

“Nice mask.” Oliver quipped in a low voice, accompanied by a tilt up of his lips that could only be classified as a smirk, before jumping up and climbing the ladder to the roof and disappearing. Barry full on grinned now, teeth showing and eyes scrunching. If Joe thought something more than him saving their lives was causing his superhero son to light up like that, he wouldn’t be wrong. 

Barry had dreamed of billionaire Oliver Queen even before he met him, sneaking glances at magazines teenage Iris would read. He admits, Oliver was one of the guys that made him realize he was bisexual. He’d never tell that to the man now that they were friends, but it’s true. When he got the chance to meet him the first time he visited Starling, he thought it was a joke. He went there to see if the weird case was related to his mother’s departure, but ended up figuring out the playboy was the  _ green arrow _ . Talk about a time. 

Now they were more than acquaintances, good friends Barry likes to think. He knows if he needs something, he can call Oliver or Felicity; even if they’re miles apart and don’t talk on a regular basis. It’s comforting having people like that, especially in this line of work. 

He didn’t hesitate to go after Oliver once he was assured Joe and his team were okay, heading back to the department without any mishaps. He found him sitting on his motorcycle at the back of the building, waiting for him, like he knew he would come. Of course he would, Barry always has and always will. It’s a given how wrapped around his finger he is. Oliver told him where the others were at and that he was heading back there now, Barry being Barry, he decides to initiate their open-teasing they typically have going on and let the older have a head start. He knows he’ll get there before him, with his speed, but he gives the man a false sense of confidence.  

The voice had been quiet during the exchange, mainly because Barry loses all sense of rationality when it comes to being in front of Oliver. And he really didn’t want it to blurt out something stupid like ‘your eyes shine brighter than the moon itself’. He would stab himself before it got the chance. 

He lets his mind wander when he’s running, he goes too fast for anyone around to even remotely hear his conscious. Different theories of the meta spill over, where he was the night the particle  accelerator blew, how he does his work. He’s at the abandoned three-story building’s rocky ‘driveway’ before he knows it, spots a girl and man on the battered porch. Felicity and Diggle, most likely. 

“By the way, Oliver got like a thirty minute head start.” Barry confesses, humor lacing his voice right as he comes to a halt in front of them. There’s Big Belly Burger wrappers scattered in front of them, some flying in the air from the wind he caused. Felicity holds a cup from the place and tilts it a little in greeting. 

“Hi, Barry.” There’s a soft smile on her face and Barry can’t help but match it. She’s beautiful, no doubt. But they’ve been down that road and they agreed it wasn’t truly what they wanted. Barry would much rather have the girl’s crime-fighting best friend. He didn’t tell her that, but he’s sure she’s figured it out on her own. 

“Hey, Felicity.” He turns to now greet the other man, whose mouth had been agape since he arrived. “How ya doin’, Digg?” His smile is now charming, like he does when he can tell someone’s impressed or shocked by his speed. 

“You’re fast.” It was almost accusatory, but still full of amazement. Barry chuckled, nodding his head. Yes, he was fast. It impressed him sometimes, how fast he could be. This life was surreal. He’s thankful everyday for the off chance it was  _ him _ that got struck by lightning. 

Felicity made a joke about John drooling over him that made them laugh when Oliver skid to a stop on his bike. Barry was the one to walk toward him, then with him as he kept moving forward. He tried not to stare at the suited man’s jawline. 

“Thanks for helping me out back there but I had it under control. I was about to make my move.” His mind had other plans than playing along with his assured tone, as right after he spoke the voice let out, “No you weren’t.” 

Oliver instantly positioned his bow in a defensive stance, ready to shoot at anything that moves. 

“Oh, shit, no. Hi, don’t shoot, well. You can’t shoot me exactly but you could shoot Barry and that would be, not good. Not good at all.” Barry was distressed, to say the least. This moment, it was all his mind’s mind, not his. God, that’s confusing as hell. 

The vigilante’s eyes pierced a hole through him, looking for an explanation. It took him a second but Barry scrambled to rush out for the second time in 12 hours, “It’s my conscious. Brain, mind, thought process mainly. A meta we took down last night cast a spell thing on me and now it like, radiates out of me? Caitlin and Cisco are gonna talk to her to see if she can reverse it, but we’ve been pretty busy today so.” He wonders how many times he’s going to have to explain this before it’s fixed.

The speedster could see that he was still weary, with the way he slowly lowered his bow in apprehension. 

Talk to him, calm his nerves or something. Show him you’re harmless so he doesn’t end up putting an arrow through me.

His mind listened to him instead of just voicing the current thoughts, “What he said is true. I’m just here doing my job out loud until I can return to doing it in the safety of Barry’s head. No need to fear me, I can’t control him or anything.” Barry had never been so relieved to hear it talking, because Oliver’s shoulders came out of their rigid set and he fully pointed his weapon at the ground. He counted this one as a win. 

Felicity cautiously broke the silence that had now developed around them, “Okay then. Talking air? We’ve seen crazier.” Barry allowed himself to let go and laugh, because everyone he knows, including himself, have seen crazier than a talking mind. This is his life now. Also, luckily for him, his friends know of the dangers around them and recognize this isn’t one. Felicity continues, “Even the reason we’re here is more absurd.” 

This makes Barry perk up, wonder dancing through him, “Speaking of. No offense, but why  _ are _ you guys here?” Not that he isn’t happy about it, he loves seeing this bunch. Especially in action. The mere thought alone makes him smile.

“Working a case. Homicide in Starling where the murder weapon…” The blonde digs in her bag for something, “Is a boomerang.” She hands what she’d brought out to Barry, which is, in fact, a boomerang. One made of what feels like hard plastic and has intensely sharp curves. 

His eyes get big like they used to on Christmas, breathily muttering out, “Cool.” Oliver gives him a sharp look, anyone else probably would’ve shivered a little, but Barry knew there was no actual heat behind it. He played along nonetheless, “I mean, awful.” 

Felicity goes on to spew the reasoning for the device leading them to Central, and the two dive into something Diggle can only name as ‘nerd talk’. Oliver clears his throat, meaning he wants them to redirect the chatter to more important things. 

“We were following a lead when we heard the raid over the radio, thought I’d swing by to see you ‘make your move’.” The playful tone the vigilante used didn’t go unnoticed by Barry, prompting his smile to widen with a glint in his eyes. And it wasn’t red streaks this time. 

For the first time since Oliver got there, Diggle spoke with his arms crossed, “My cousin got hit by lightning once, he only developed a stutter.” Barry dismissed it with a ‘huh.’ of fake interest. 

“Well, my team and I are after a nasty metahuman that makes people really angry.” It was only fair he confess his shenanigans if they did theirs. 

It was Felicity’s turn to let out an impressed ‘Cool.’, following with ‘I mean, awful.’ just like Barry had done moments prior when Oliver gave her the same look. The scientist had an idea then, eagerly ready to share. 

He stutters a little, arms splaying out in front of him, “Since you guys are here, why don’t we team up? I could help you find your boomerang man, you could help me catch my super rageaholic.” He swears his cheeks are starting to hurt from how much smiling he’s doing. 

“We’d love to.” Felicity provides right as Oliver insists, “No, we’ll handle our business and head home.” Barry stands back quietly and closely watches them bicker over Oliver’s secret identity, along with the reason they need Star Labs with this case. It’s like being in the middle of a married couple arguing about what to have for dinner and the speedster is relieved when Felicity just protests she’ll go to Star Labs herself, everybody there already knows who she is anyway. 

In hopes to impress, he picks her up bridal style and bolts away faster than Oliver can call out anything to stop them. Who he’s trying to impress, he doesn’t know, all of them probably. Mainly the guy in the green hood. And if Diggle stares off after them, proclaiming a question of how Barry’s speed isn’t freaking Oliver out, to which he shrugs with a hint of a dimple and says, “Barry’s extraordinary.” 

Well, the Flash never hears about it.    
  


-

 

After dealing with Felicity’s shirt catching on fire because of how fast he was going, her and Cisco migrate to take tests on the boomerang. Nerdy talk to the max. Barry chuckles, shaking his head fondly at them before walking up beside Caitlin, who is leaned over looking at one of the computers. 

He asks her if they’ve found anything new on the angry meta and Caitlin is happy to supply him with the details that have been bugging him all day. Apparently the meta induces rage via the ocular nerve, or simply put, he uses his eyes to make people go loco. It seems legitimate, he can vaguely recall Joe saying something about the SWAT member’s eyes glowing red. That’s a fair way to take someone down, imagine how many people you make eye contact with in a day? That’s why it was so easy to rob the bank, he didn’t have to put up any fight at all. 

Caitlin straightens up with her hand raised a little, a thought just crossing her, “Oh! Dr. Wells wants to see you.” She gives him an apologetic look, lips quirking down in a wince. Oh no. Barry’s eyebrows shoot up, wondering what he could’ve down this time. He doesn’t want to keep Harrison waiting so he cautiously walks into the room with the glass window and his treadmill. He’s surprised to find Joe there as well, seated on the steps that lead up to his running equipment. 

“Why do I have the strange feeling that I just got called into the principal’s office?” He carefully peered at the men, unable to find reason for this meeting. 

“Starling city vigilante.” Straight to the point, kind of. He knew Joe must’ve suspected something when Oliver showed up at the shoot down earlier and Barry couldn’t contain his facial expressions. Barry also knows that he accepts him being into guys too, ever since that night in highschool he found Barry in his room ‘studying’ with what was supposed to be his science partner. Barry had never turned so red before. And he wears a maroon suit and runs in scarlet lightning everyday… 

He decides to go with the neutral approach anyways, “He calls himself the Arrow now.” 

“Oh, is that right, Flash?” Joe bites back. 

Barry is silent for a second before asking, “So what’s the problem?” He knows the problem. 

“We don’t trust him.” Dr. Wells finally voices. Of course not. His mind speaks that out loud and he isn’t even bothered. 

He walks closer, stance defensive as he crosses his arms. “You don’t even  _ know  _  him.” 

They look at him, frustrated; they already realize they can’t say anything that’ll make much of a difference to the way Barry obviously wants to stick up for the vigilante. 

“I saw the way you looked at him, bear. You lit up like the sun, I haven’t seen you so gone for anybody since you were a teenager. But I also know this guy is bad news and has been wanted for more than 12 murders in the past three years.” Barry’s eyes go up to the ceiling, shuffling his feet. He isn’t annoyed at the fact his dad caught onto his feelings, just that he was trying to make Barry see Oliver as a monster. He was anything but. 

Before the boy could jab in Dr. Wells continued, “And there’s been at least two major terrorists attacks in Starling since he became active. Barry, we want the best for you.”

“And this criminal is nowhere near it.” 

“He’s a  _ hero _ , Joe.” Barry states in a baffled tone. He doesn’t kill people anymore and it’s really not Oliver’s fault the bad guys go after Starling. He almost feels silly having to sit here and listen to a lecture from two men he sees as father figures claiming they want the best for him. He’s seen bad guys, and the Arrow is not one. 

“ _ You’re _ a hero, Barry. The arrow is not someone I want my son to be associating with, much less admiring.” Joe is pointed with the way he says it and Barry sighs. 

He isn’t going to get his way with this, is he? 

Dr. Wells shakes his head at what the voice just said, “Barry, you offer hope, light, something to believe in. What that man does is bring darkness anywhere he goes, especially his own city. You truly think he’s a hero, and accept him with the things he’s done, so be it. But he’s definitely not the kind of person you should be falling for.” 

“How the hell do you get a say in that?” Barry is near fuming after hearing that, “In what book does it state that you get an input in who I trust and care for?” 

“The book where we want to keep you  _ safe _ , Allen.” Barry’s about to reply to Wells’s comment but there’s a loud crash in the other room and he can hear Caitlin screaming. He’s almost grateful for the distraction until Joe turns to him after the boomerang gets wedged in a pipe and sternly tells him he wants the green arrow out of his city, soon or he’ll run him out on his own terms. He doesn’t expect an answer but Barry gives him one in the form of a betrayed huff and shake of his head.   
  


\--   
  


Barry was only a little short of ecstatic when he received a text from Oliver the succeeding day, asking him to meet at Jitters. He’s undoubtedly not going to inform him of the blowout that occurred last night, mainly because it would mean telling the older that he wouldn’t mind making out with him for the rest of his life. Just, not happening. Oliver can stay in Central for as long as he pleases. 

He walked into the coffee shop, spotting Felicity and Oliver coincidentally sat at a table right over where Barry was laying in defeat a few nights prior. His hands are casually resting in his pockets as he strides over, “Hey.” 

Felicity is wearing the smuggest, most delightful grin as Oliver gives him the name of the metahuman who robbed the bank. Barry is dumbfounded for a moment, staring at the dirty blond’s expectant face. 

“Uh… Thank you.” A smile graces over him now, “How did you find that out?” He’s certainly joyful at the new information, it’ll be way easier trying to take this guy down now that they had a name. 

But Oliver just regards him, and Barry knows that look. Of course he doesn’t want to give into what Joe and Dr. Wells argued with him about, but he’s still hesitant enough to scramble out, “The guy’s still alive, right?” He feels stupid when he watches him, like the answer is obvious. 

Barry rushes to say, “Just asking. I thought you didn’t wanna help us… ?” 

Oliver then seems conflicted, “I’m not. It’s just a name, Barry.” Gives him one of those not-smiles and a small nod. Barry nods along with, only slightly sad that they still aren’t teaming up. 

The disappointment is dismissed when Iris comes bounding in with mugs of coffee, setting Felicity’s down in front of her and stating what it was with a soft smile before giving Oliver’s his and  _ oh _ . Iris was bending over the table, telling him she brewed a fresh pot just for him. She wasn’t being subtle in any way, shape, or form. Iris was openly flirting with Oliver Queen. Barry wishes he could say he wasn’t jealous of the gentle expression the man gave his childhood best friend but he’d be lying straight through his teeth. Dammit. 

The voice snapped the girl out of her trance of twinkling her eyes, getting up and dusting her apron off. She cleared her throat and smiled once more at the billionaire before asking if she could talk with Barry for a second. Barry groaned in his head, his eyebrows still scrunching up. It’s humorous, once upon a time the brunette would be jealous  _ for _ Iris when she talked to other guys. Now it was because she was talking to  _ his _ guys. Not that Oliver was even remotely his. 

They started walking together to the other side of the coffee shop, and he flinched when Iris started hitting his arm. He should apologize for his mind blurting ‘dammit’, that’s what this is for, right? 

“You didn’t tell me you were friends with _ Oliver Queen _ !” She all but squeals. Oh, alright, not entirely unexpected. Shut up, brain. 

“I’m friends with Oliver Queen.” Yes, there was a hint of bitterness in his tone and a frown embedded on his usually happy face, but can you blame him? He was not in the mood to listen to Iris go on about how attractive Oliver was in person because he knows. He knows how built he his, and how cute his smile is. Jesus, does he know. 

“He’s on my three list.” Iris reveals. 

“What’s a three list?” 

“My list of three guys I’m allowed to cheat on Eddie with. You typically don’t meet people on your list but now he’s here and... I cannot stop staring at him.” And she isn’t fibbing, her eyes, which Barry is sure he can see hearts in, haven’t left the seated playboy since they started talking. Barry’s jaw is tight as he follows her line of sight and watches Felicity scanning Oliver behind her cup. He sighs then, letting out the built-up tension. Why did God have to make them both so cute? 

  
  


*

“Felicity, this is me noticing you staring.” Oliver provided, hands clasped on the table in front of the blonde girl. She’d been staring him down since Barry and Iris left the table to ‘talk’. Whatever that was about.

“We need to help Barry with this case.” She automatically says, lowering her mug just barely. Oliver takes a sharp intake of breath and she asks, “Why don’t you want to?” The vigilante was stubborn, but if anybody could crack him it would be Felicity. She’s done it two hundred-twenty six times before.

Oliver thought about it for a beat, “Because Barry doesn’t really want my help. He just thinks he does.” Felicity scoffed at that, finally setting her coffee down. How he could be so oblivious was beyond her. Or, knowing him, he was most likely aware but didn’t want to face the facts. 

“Harrison Wells and Barry’s cop foster dad both said you were dangerous and they didn’t want him around you because you’re a bad influence. Barry defended you. He called you a hero, Oliver, even when they brought up the not-so-great past of the Arrow.” She said, face squashing up at the last sentence, but still leaning forward to not break eye contact. She pointedly left the part out about Barry’s feelings for him, that wasn’t her secret to tell. Even though everyone in a ten mile radius can see it. 

Oliver couldn’t help the smile that rose, “You’re gonna hawk me about this until I agree, aren’t you?” 

That made Felicity smile because she knew she won. “I’m a hawker.”

Felicity: 227

Oliver: 0   
  


*   
  


Barry noticed Oliver standing up from his spot with Felicity so he started to approach him, both of them meeting in the middle. He doesn’t know what the two were discussing but it made him smile in the end so he guesses it was a good thing. 

“Okay.” 

“Okay what?” Barry questioned. 

“Okay, we’ll help you catch your bad guy.” 

Barry lit up, every bad emotion he’d felt in the past few minutes draining out of his system. “Awesome.” He excitedly nodded, “We call them metahumans.” 

“I’m not calling him that, Barry.” Barry could tell there was the smallest hint of a smile and he rolled with it. Anything he could get was good enough.

He extended his hand for Oliver to shake, “Partners?” The man easily took it and repeated the term more firmly. Barry tried not to focus on his calloused fingertips or how Oliver’s pointer and middle finger slid out of the grip to rest against his pulse point. He was sure he could feel how hard his heart was beating but Oliver just let go and gave him a faint smirk before  _ winking _ at him. 

If it wasn’t already bad enough. 

 

\--  
  


The first thing Oliver greeted Barry with was a simple, “You’re late. Barry, how can you have superspeed and not be on time?” 

“Sorry. The super tardiness kinda neutralizes it.” His mind answers for him. 

The speedster didn’t know why the man wanted to meet at the same beat up building he found team arrow at the night they got to Central, but here they were. It looks different in daylight, majority of the grass around was dead and the porch was slick with leftover rain. He was still buzzing a little from running, his nerves only calming down slightly. It felt as though his bloodstream fizzed like sparkling water when the lightning took over. 

Still confused as to the reason Oliver told him to come here, Barry asks, “So how are we gonna catch Bivolo here?” 

Oliver shakes his head, still not looking at him. “We don’t. We’re here to train.” That makes his eyebrows go up, then a sly lift of lips. 

“What? Like Rocky?” The voice gets out before Barry has a chance to. Oliver finally steals a glance over in a silent way of telling him to make his brain be quiet. Okay, yeah, he might deserve that one. 

Oliver goes on to tell him he read all of Iris’s blog posts about the Flash. It makes a pink tint appear on his cheeks because Oliver read about the things Barry’s done, he knows the different people he’s taken down or saved. There’s a weird sense of pride, especially since it was Iris’s stories, of all people. She isn’t dim with her superhero crush on the Flash, and it shows in her writing. She typically paints him out to be a lot better than he thinks he is. 

Except, Oliver also visited all the crime scenes. He dismisses Barry’s mind’s offhand, ‘don’t you sleep?’ and goes on. Leorand Snart. 

“We call him captain cold.” Barry beams. 

“We can discuss you giving your enemies silly codenames later.” 

This makes Barry’s mouth open and tumble out a sarcastic reply, “Oh, over coffee with Deathstroke and the Huntress?” That was too easy, Oliver, you walked into it. The other holds back a chuckle, and Barry really did not mean for that to come out. 

Next thing he knows, Oliver’s criticizing him for always running in blind, how reckless he is about his surroundings. Barry defends that he was the hero in that situation, but Oliver pushes. It might make him roll his eyes but he has a point. Even if he won’t ever admit it. 

Oliver continues his speech as he starts treading towards his motorcycle off the porch, Barry easily following behind. When Oliver says there’s a difference between having powers and having precision, Barry blanks. 

“When I came to you, you told me I could be an inspiration.” 

The day Barry got his superspeed, he was overwhelmed. As any person would be. He wanted to help with crime, help defeat the metahumans who were terrorizing their city. He knew he could do it, he was definitely fast and smart enough. Dr. Wells had other plans. So he ran to the only person he thought he could.

Oliver. 

He can remember that night on the rooftop like the back of his hand. The Arrow was keeping a watch out and the forensic scientist came tumbling to him in a bolt of red and gust of wind. He didn’t freak out, or tell him to leave. He sat and intently listened to Barry tell him everything that had lead him up to where he was now. And he told him he could be a hero. That he was the light and he could inspire people in a way that the Arrow never could. Barry obviously called bull on the last part because the vigilante was one of the main reasons he even wanted to become who he is. 

“Living this life takes more than a mask, Barry. It takes discipline. And since you’re probably as stubborn as I am-” Oliver gets cut off as he picks up his bow, and aligns an arrow on it. Barry takes a cautious step back. 

“Uh, wait, what’s that for?” He points to the bow, if it wasn’t already clear. 

“You’re gonna run over there, come back at me, and get hit with an arrow.” 

Barry laughs. Oliver’s lost his mind hasn’t he? 

“No, I’m not.” He confidently replies, moving his head back and forth, chuckles that aren’t really out of humor dying down. The tickled smile falling from his face as he challenges Oliver. 

It’s the archers turn to huff out laughter, “Yes, you are.” 

Barry takes on a mocking tone now. He looks around before casting his eyes once again on Oliver. “Alright, fine. I’ll humor you, Mr. Queen.” 

He speeds over to a hill in the distance, shouting out a simple, ‘ready?’ as Oliver takes stance and draws back his bow. He gives a cocky grin the second he catches the arrow in his fist. “Nice try.” 

He plunges forth when he feels the two arrows pierce the muscles in his back, crying out. He’s felt pain, lots of it, and this is definitely in his top 10. 

“What the hell?! You  _ shot _ me?” He yells, breathing heavy as he turns to find the two rigged crossbows hidden in the grass. Oliver trots over, expression guarded like he’s almost in pain, seeing Barry in pain. Good, serves him right. 

“Tough love, Mr. Allen.” Oliver rests his left hand on his hip as he yanks the arrows out, one by one. Barry wails out a few more curses before he starts to heal. He’s gonna not only feel the arrows lodged in his shoulders every time it rains, but also the presence behind him, strong hand holding him still by the waist. Who told him it was okay to like a guy with a bow and arrow? Tough love, indeed.  
  


-  
  


This was unfair. 

Sure, Barry wasn’t the Arrow’s biggest fan right now either, mainly because he just shot him less than two hours ago; but Joe  _ never _ needs to know that. It would only send him into a panicked frenzy, plus the wounds are already mostly healed as if they were never there in the first place. The detective in focus had started nagging him about the Arrow when he showed up to the CCPD, stating that he was an uncontrolled lunatic. He tried to defend him as much as he could, like he’ll spend forever doing, but Joe didn’t want to hear any of it. 

Barry almost wonders if he’s right, shaking the thought away as soon as it arrives. Oliver is a good man. He has questionable methods but he’s not a bad person. Crushing aside, Barry thinks Oliver’s actually one of the best people he’s ever met, he understands him. He gets what it’s like to risk your life every day for a city you call home. It’s what makes them more similar than Joe thinks. 

And he isn’t upset when he speeds into Star Labs after the encounter with his father, just frustrated. At himself, at Joe, and as much as he doesn’t want to be, even a little at Oliver. Felicity knew he was gonna shoot him! What’s worse, the fact Oliver jokes about putting arrows through people or the fact Felicity knew he was going to and didn’t tell him? 

Barry’s one hundred percent not in the best mood, so when Cisco pipes in that facial recognition found their criminal of the week, he’s hasty and insists he can take on Bivolo without the Arrow’s help. He’s done it a million times before without him and he can do it again. 

Except, he’s irrational as he vibrates the lock off the door of Bivolo’s, apartment? Lair? There’s an eery feeling with all the dark drawings set up, even one with the eyes cut out. Barry whips around when Bivolo speaks up. 

“I knew you’d be coming for me. At the bank, you were angry that I turned those people against each other. Always the hero.” The meta showed himself, clad in a pair of sunglasses, moving to stand right in front of the speedster. Barry practically growls as he charges at the man, shoving him to the wall. He makes a point to look down and squeeze his eyes shut, he knows Bivolo uses his powers by looking people in the eye. 

“Let’s give you some real anger.” Is the last thing Barry hears before he’s opening his eyes and his vision turns red. He’s furiously blinking, the meta disappeared already. When he turns around to punch the wall, he can see clearly again.   
  


-

 

That doesn’t stop Caitlin from taking tests on him when he returns the subsequent day, examining his eyes with some machine. He demands he feels fine, it must’ve not worked on him because of his powers. He can feel himself getting more annoyed though, not only from the loss of Bivolo but from Caitlin insisting he needs to be more careful next time. He can take care of himself just fine. To make matters worse, Oliver wants to meet again for another ‘session’. Felicity makes a joke about him not shooting Barry again, hopefully; but the young man can’t bring himself to do anything but roll his eyes. He’s doing that a lot lately. He ends up going anyways, if only to tell Oliver how wrong he was. 

Barry zooms into the building’s front floor this time instead of the porch, where Oliver’s delicately holding his bow in the hands folded behind his back. “Want to embarrass me again?” 

Oliver turns around then, loosening his grip on the weapon, “I’m not trying to embarrass you, Barry. You went after Bivolo alone and lost him.” 

Barry scoffs, irritadely reversing around to face the way he came in, “Yeah, and you’ve never had a misstep?”

“Of course I’ve had missteps. But, Barry, I’ve been living this life for almost eight years, going up against things you can’t even fathom, and I’m still  _ alive _ . Not because superspeed kept me on the ground. It’s because I kept learning, kept training, kept getting smarter. Until you realize you need to do that, despite your best intentions, you’re going to do more harm than good.” Barry’s arms stiffly cross somewhere along the way and he’s glaring a hole through Oliver’s head now. “I agreed to this partnership so I could help you.”  

He feels it slowly bubble inside himself, pumping through every inch of him. His skin goes hot, similar to when he runs but worlds apart at the same time. 

“I finally see it.” 

Oliver raises his eyebrows, asking what it is that he sees without speaking. Barry slowly scuffs forward. 

“You’re not oblivious. You know.” Barry starts to take a step towards the man after everything he says, “You know the reason I wanted to team up with you. Not to catch Bivolo, not to help you solve your boomerang case.” There’s a bite to his words, “It’s because I wanted to see you. I didn’t want you to leave. And you’re just standing here dangling it in front of my face any chance you get, because you know. You’ve always known.” 

Oliver takes in a slow breath, eyeing the distance between them that’s growing less and less, “What are you talking about, Barry?” 

Barry throws his hands up in the air, “Really? Playing dumb? Oliver Queen, rich, handsome, can have anyone he wants. I was weak at the knees from the moment I met you.” Barry truly has no idea what he’s doing, no control over what’s spilling out of his mouth. 

He inches the last foot, face to face with the vigilante. He can feel their breath mingling, and it’s only now does he realize how wrecked Oliver is from his words. 

“And God, I’ve wanted you since that moment.” Barry’s eyes trail to the other’s lips, which are parted the slightest bit and glossed over. “But you don’t want me.” He states it as a fact, like it’s one of the things he’s grown to accept no matter how much it hurts him to. 

“Not true.” Oliver’s voice is low and restrained, like it takes everything in him not to scream. 

“Yeah? Then prove it,  _ Ollie _ .” Barry stays still, creating eye contact as he lets his mind’s voice take the next words, “Kiss me.” 

And Oliver does. Their surroundings are blocked out, the scent of fresh rain and metal, as he grips Barry’s neck. He almost hesitates before pressing their mouths together, Barry’s so glad he doesn’t. Oliver kisses him, closed mouth and gentle at first before melting into the fire of it. Over and over and over again. It’s almost painful when he traps him against the wall, not taking a moment to breathe. Their bodies align and a low hum makes it’s way into the otherwise quiet air. 

This is everything to Barry, better than the lightning, better than the rush tingling through his veins when he darts around the city in seconds. One of the best things he’s ever had the pleasure of hearing is Oliver sighing out his name. 

He never wants it to end, hands roaming underneath shirts to get a memory of everything this moment held, tangling in ruffled hair, hips being pulled closer. He has a great opinion Oliver feels the same; what with the way he breaks their lips apart only to kiss along his jaw and bite a mark into the skin of his neck. 

Everything was fine, everything thing was  _ wonderful _ , until it wasn’t. 

Barry saw red as he shoved Oliver’s shoulder, making the older step back easily, giving him his space. He’s too foggy minded to realize Oliver never stumbles, which he would take note of and think about if he was right headed. Well, if he was thinking clearly he wouldn’t be pushing him off in the first place, to come to that conclusion. 

He breathes heavily, reaching up to put his fists against his eyes and wincing. Oliver is regarding him with a pensive look masking confusion. “Are you okay?” 

Barry whips his head up at that, “I’m  _ fine _ , Oliver!” Oliver doesn’t look to believe him at all. The speedster yanks his arm away when he tries to touch him, scowling. He’s this close to darting out of there, Oliver can see it with the way he’s searching for an easy exit. 

“You don’t have to leave, Barry. Just take a second.” He tried to keep his voice neutral to not upset the boy, but he was in fear a little. He saw the red of his eyes and he didn’t want Barry to do anything he couldn’t reverse once this got out of his system. 

“Yeah, I do. I gotta go, Oliver,” Barry sped off without any other explanation, leaving the vigilante to clench his jaw in worry. 

Felicity informed Oliver of everything that they knew about Bivolo the previous day after Barry lost him, and she also told him that he got whammied. This must have been the effects of it, even though Felicity said they didn’t find anything during the tests. Just when he believes things are going his way, the guy he likes has to go rage on him and run off using his superpowers. A sentence Oliver never thought he’d hear himself think. 

If the case was as he perceived it to be, he had to call the team at Star Labs and Joe, Barry’s adoptive dad. As Arrow of course, he doesn’t want them knowing his identity. Not yet, at least. If they somehow do figure it out, he wants it to be under different circumstances. 

Debating who to call first, he chooses Joe; if Barry went back to work at the CCPD, this was not going to end well. He uses his Arrow phone, the one that distorts his real voice, clicking the contact he’s never used before now. 

It’s not weird to have Joe as a contact, right? He has everyone’s contact, it’s efficient and helpful, especially in case something like this happens. 

“Hello?” Joe answers, sounding distressed to say the least. 

“Joe West. It’s the Arrow.” Oliver supplies, knowing that Joe has never experienced his voice. Majority of people in Starling recognize it by now. “Has Barry Allen stopped by the CCPD?” 

Keep it as professional as possible, is what his gut is telling him. He thinks back to the conversation with the blonde girl of his team, how she said Joe and Dr. Wells thought he was bad news. He would say they aren’t wrong, but that’s just Oliver’s pity side talking. 

“Well, I’d usually threaten you to leave Central right about now but I have bigger problems. Barry just came in acting crazy, total loss of control. He punched a wall and talked back to his boss. Barry  _ never _ talks back.” Joe provides, the last part makes the corner of Oliver’s lips raise the teeniest bit. That’s Barry for you. “Oh, and his eyes glowed.” 

“Red?” 

“Yep. How’d you know?” 

Oliver shifts, heading outside to his motorcycle. “Had a run in with him not too long ago. Same thing happened, but with less punching walls.” That makes Joe chuckle on the receiver, and Oliver feels a strike of pride. He’s not in the greatest boat with this man, but he made him laugh, so that’s a win right? 

“Can’t believe I’m saying this… You have a connection with my son, right?” 

Oliver picked the helmet off of his handle, pondering what exactly that means. “You could say that.” 

“Strong enough that you could handle him until Star labs can devise a plan to fix this? He zipped off somewhere. The streets, I think.” Joe seemed struggled to ask it, like the last thing he wanted was for his son to have to be around the Arrow. 

“I can try my best.” 

“Uh, yeah. Thanks. Just… Make sure my son stays safe, please. Whatever the hell your name is.” A real smile appears on Oliver’s face now. He’s being trusted with Barry, from Joe, the man who basically raised him the better part of his life. He was already straddling his bike and ready to start riding the second he got off the phone. 

“Contact Star labs immediately after this, tell them they need to find a solution, and quickly. Goodbye, Detective West.” He hung up before the man got to reply, slipping the cell into one of the pockets of his leather jacket. Barry Allen was going to be the death of him.   
  
  


-

 

Oliver gets suited up and uses his arrows to zipline him around the city quicker, searching for any sign of a red streak. He had Felicity in his ear, explaining what they planned on doing if he found the young man. She also informed him that Dr. Wells figured out his identity, which was just fantastic. More people in on his secret, people he’s never even met. But they were close to Barry, so they had to be trustworthy. He wasn’t that phased by it. 

It was hitting nightfall and Oliver was yet to set sights on the ‘Flash’, or regular Barry. Which, good in the sense he didn’t cause public trouble as far as they’re concerned, bad in the sense of they need to find him so they can use the color-thingy Star Labs built. Scientists always amaze him. 

“Oliver, I found Barry.” Felicity rushes into his ear, voice distracted and painful. “He’s downtown, you need to get there fast. It’s not good.” 

Oliver immediately figures his way there, he wasn’t that far in the first place. He spots Barry walking towards some guy on the ground, spewing harsh words. Iris, he recognizes from the coffee shop, is a few feet away and looking shaken and afraid.

Oliver assesses from the rooftop and decides to grab an arrow from his quiver, and shoots it at the rage filled man. He jumps down once the wires wrap firmly around him. He holds his bow in front of him, rope still attached. 

“Run.” He barks at Iris and Eddie in the voice that’s ten octaves lower than his normal one. He needs them to safety if things turn south. No casualties in this situation. He then glares at Barry, “You need to calm down.” 

“And you need to hold on.” Barry then zips off, taking Oliver right along with him. There’s sparks coming from his equipment that’s scraping against the street, but he holds on until Barry slings him around, breaking the wire. 

Oliver’s laying on the ground in pain when Barry struts towards him, red suit shifting slightly with his movements. He retrieves another arrow, this one time one of the explosive ones. And he aims it right behind Barry, sticking in the side of a dumpster. 

“Missed.” 

Oliver shakes his head, “I didn’t.” 

When Barry’s knocked to the ground from the bomb, the vigilante takes it as his cue to hurriedly get up and round about, coming at Barry from a different angle. He once again shoots the man in the back, (he’s going to be doing a lot of apologizing once this is over, he can sense it) this time with two thousand milligrams of horse tranquilizer. 

Barry grunts and falls on one knee before ripping the arrow out, standing up and  _ vibrating  _ the tranquilizer out. Oliver is stunned, but he makes sure not to show it. The last thing he needs right now is his opponent noticing any weakness on him. He hates to think of Barry as an opponent but during this point, he is. The real Barry is repressed somewhere deep behind this rage fest. 

Suddenly, Oliver’s surrounded by a circle of red lightning. Barry’s speeding around him and Oliver knows he’s not going to get out of it any time soon, or get to throw in any physical contact that’ll do him good. So he shoots a zipline to the top of a nearby building and flies his way up. Only, Barry catches it and zooms to the top, pulling the arrow out of the brick. 

Oliver’s falling to the ground momentarily until he shoots another one, letting his hold on his bow and the rope save his fall. 

“Is that all you got in you?” It’s a sick version of Barry’s voice, the smugness and anger to it not settling well in Oliver’s stomach. He doesn’t have time to reflect on it because the speedster is coming at him from all different sides, and Oliver can’t keep up. He blocks punches and kicks, putting up his best fight with someone that moves in the blink of an eye. 

Finally, Oliver gets in a hit to the jaw with the metal of his bow, and Barry is _ not _ happy about it. The archer can tell by the hundreds of quick punches his body receives in a minute afterwards. And God, that hurts. 

Barry sends two solid blows to his face, sending him backwards into a dirty puddle. He groans, holding his torso, before hitting a button on the crossbows he had rigged up on the other side of the alley. The two small arrows get caught in Barry’s fists with his simple, “Fool me once.” 

But that’s exactly what Oliver wanted as he throws the knife straight through the man’s left thigh. He cries out, once again falling to his knee to pull the silver blade out. He’s hurt him too much today for his own liking. 

“I’m still here with you, Barry.” Is the last thing he says before catching the fist the brunette moves to strike him with and turning him around in his embrace. He laces his hands together over Barry’s chest, firmly holding him until the van skids to a stop sideways in front of the two. 

The doors pop open, and colors are fastly lighted out in a certain pattern. Barry is staring wide eyed at it, body going slack against Oliver. It’s alright, he didn’t really want to let him go anyways.

Barry then breaks away after the colors stop, to wince and moan with his face pinched, hands splayed across his head mask. 

“Barry? You okay?” 

The man in question just turns to squint his eyes at him before leaping forward and kissing him. Yes. This is good. Oliver enjoys this, even if he’s positive two of his ribs are broken. 

Once they pull apart Barry mutters, “This is gonna be a special kind of hangover.” 

Oliver lets an extensive grin take over, chuckling. The intense relief of Barry being okay again was greater than he would like to admit. He says it anyways, and slinks around to wrap his arm over Barry’s waist, and the boy follows easily, putting his own over Oliver’s shoulders.

Then Barry’s scrambling for words as they limp together and the green hooded man doesn’t mind one bit. 

“Wait, I’m so sorry I vibrated the tranquilizer out of my system. I didn’t even know I could  _ do _ that.” Of all the things he chooses to apologize for, this is the one. Oliver ends up jolting out a sincere laugh and smiling the entire drive back to Star Labs. He can see Joe peeking sly looks at them through the rearview mirror, but he doesn’t comment on the kiss he witnessed or the way their bodies are pressed close, limbs still cradling the other.   
  
  


\--  
  
  


They worked together to catch Bivolo and he was now yelling at them from inside the anti-metahuman cell. It was.. Fun. Being out there, fighting alongside Barry instead of with him. 

Cisco and Caitlin trail ahead, bickering over what codename they chose for the guy. He decided he was fond of them, the girl being smart as all hell and the boy quick to make a pop culture reference any chance he got. 

Oliver observed the room with it’s high tech metal and futuristic appliances. 

“I have a prison like this. Mine’s on a nearly inhospitable island in the North China Sea, but I guess this works too.” Barry and him are the only ones in the walkway now, and the younger gives him a gentle chuckle. 

“Yeah, it’s cool isn’t it?” Barry casually moves closer, his hands in his jean pockets. “But, uhm. Can we talk, Ol?” Oliver gives him a soft raise of the eyebrows and nods as if to say of course they could.

Barry leads him to one of the empty rooms that has Cisco’s work space and tools in it, sitting down in one of the swiveling chairs. Oliver accompanies in the one next to him.

His eyes are curious as he gives Barry all his attention. “So?” 

“What are we?” His mind’s voice blurts out, and that’s definitely not what Barry wanted to start with. They really need to talk to story-teller soon.

He flails, stuttering, “I- I mean, no. I just mean, like. Do you like me?” 

Oliver lets a humorous yet affectionate smile grace his lips, “Yes.” 

“Yes? So like, yes yes? Or like yes, but no?” He’s sure he isn’t making any sense but it doesn’t matter. Oliver understands Barry’s word clusters, he’s one of the few that does. 

Barry’s hands are shaking. He’s nervous, even though he knows there isn’t reason to be; hopefully Oliver won’t spit in his face and say he’s ridiculous. 

Barry remembers every second of when he confessed his feelings to the older man, he wasn’t completely in rage-mode just yet then. He was still aware of what he wanted to do and not to do. Sure, he let some things slip in a tone that wasn’t exactly nice, but. Whatever. It’s in the past and it got him this typically-gruff human wearing a pleasant expression in front of him. 

“Barry, you were right. I knew about your puppy crush the second you saw me.” Barry almost cuts in to say it wasn’t a puppy crush before looking back and, yeah, it was puppy then. It’s much stronger now. Oliver continues, “I just never acted about the way I also felt towards you. You know me, I’m not really the poster boy for facing my emotions when it isn’t negative.” 

Barry does know this. Oliver feels like he has to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders, constantly. He thinks it’s his job to take care of everyone around him instead of taking care of himself. And he doesn’t let himself show his feelings outwardly, even if he debates for days over them in his head. Just puts on a stern look and speaks clipped words. 

“But I’m, I’m willing to try. For you.” Oliver takes his hands and thumbs over one of his knuckles, “I want this.” 

Barry doesn’t think he’s ever smiled so wide in his entire life.   
  


-

 

Team Flash stands, sits, teeters, in front of Oliver and Felicity as the vigilante spews a speech about his identity being a highly kept secret; and that if it got leaked, it could endanger his family and himself. Cisco is looking on with wide eyes at the billionaire as Barry’s brain supplies a quiet, ‘is my kind-of boyfriend threatening my friends?’ 

“No, Barry, he’s not.” Felicity jumps in then, reassuring look on her face to settle the nerves of the room. “What he means to say is, he loved working with you guys and he’s sure he’ll be seeing you a lot more now that… Things have happened.” The way she pulls her lips inward to stop the sly smirk is enough to make even Joe chuckle. 

“Yeah, what she said.” Oliver gives in, vaguely motioning to the girl. 

They all exchange hugs and goodbyes, Barry being pulled aside by Felicity to talk about something or the other before they leave. They still have their case in Starling, so Oliver knows Barry is just going to tag along back with them. 

“Well, this was a strange turn of events.” Joe strides up to him to clap him on the shoulder and shake his hand. Oliver gives a polite nod and smile. 

“Very much so. I’m happy with it though.” Is his easy reply. 

Joe peers around to make sure his son isn’t listening, “You hurt Barry and he’ll kick your ass.” 

“I don’t doubt it, he really did a number on me the other night.” Oliver Queen is rarely flustered, but the moment he sees Joe’s eyes widen and realizes what he said he’s fumbling for an answer. “That’s, nope. That’s definitely not what I meant. The night he went rage on everyone and nearly killed me, is the correct answer.”

Joe slowly nods, his face looking as though he almost doesn’t believe him. “Yeah. I stand by what I said.” All Oliver can do is nod too, in understanding and agreement. 

Barry comes up to now, noticing his father and Oliver talking. “You ready to go?” 

“Yep.” 

Diggle and Felicity call a cab to take them, seeing as Oliver took his bike. He sits on it now, leaned to the side just like he did the night he arrived there, waiting for Barry to come looking for him. 

“Wanna race?” He challenges the speedster, lips turned up. It ends the same way each time but it’s still fun to tease. 

“I’ll be waiting in the Arrow cave when you finally arrive. See ya.” And he jolted off with that, nothing but a flash of red light. 

Oliver smiles and revs his bike, taking off after him. 

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos greatly appreciated !


End file.
